The matchup between the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks in the 2014 Super Bowl isn't just one of the best pairings in years. It's also a study in what works in the modern NFL. When the two teams arrive at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, Denver will be bringing the best offense in the league and Seattle the best defense. It has been 29 years since the two Super Bowl teams scored 10 points more than their opponents, on average, per game. The last time that happened was Super Bowl XIX, which included some guys named Joe Montana and Dan Marino.

Because of this, and because both teams have one elite unit and one that is merely serviceable, it's likely to be a close game where one or two plays makes the difference. With that in mind, here's a guide to each team's best tricks.

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Crackback toss: There are times when it looks as though Seattle's entire offensive strategy boils down to giving the ball to running back Marshawn Lynch and getting out of his way. But the secret behind Lynch's devastating runs is a sophisticated collection of plays designed to get Lynch to the "second level" of the defense, where his violent running style overwhelms defensive backs.

On Sunday, expect the Seahawks to run their "crack-toss" directly at Denver's Champ Bailey and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, neither of whom is renowned as a strong tackler. To do this, the Seahawks line up in a bunch formation with a pair of receivers close to the line. The ball is snapped and tossed to Lynch, who heads for the cornerback lined up against the outside receiver. As the defense flows to the ball, the two Seahawks receivers work back in the opposite direction to deliver so-called crackback blocks, sealing off a pair of linebackers. That leaves Lynch one on one with a cornerback, most of whom end up as roadkill.

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300 Pounder vs. Receiver: For two years, the Broncos have used one basic strategy: Linebacker Von Miller goes after the quarterback and the rest takes care of itself. But with Miller out most of the season (and for the Super Bowl), the Broncos have dialed up unpredictable blitzes and leaned on 335-pound tackle Terrance Knighton to eat up blockers, distract the offense and rattle the quarterback. The most brilliant strategy they've adopted lately is to befuddle receivers by dropping their gigantic tackles into coverage. Dropping defensive ends is nothing new: They're big, but slimmer. But the sight of a tackle clogging up passing lanes is a novelty. In the AFC title game, Denver's defensive linemen looked like they were going after QB Tom Brady, but after the snap, 306-pound tackle Mitch Unrein ran backward to play zone coverage in the middle. In his place, linebacker Nate Irving swooped in on a delayed blitz, forcing Brady to throw a slightly off-target pass to Danny Amendola.

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Vertical routes: Think football is complicated? Watch the Seahawks run a pass play sometime. Quarterback Russell Wilson thrives on deep passes, and he's got the right receivers. But it's the strategy that makes it work: On some plays, all players run in a straight line as fast as they can. See? Complicated. It's called "verticals" and it is the lifeblood of any deep-passing team. It works for the Seahawks because the bulk of Wilson's passes are thrown over the middle to strong receivers (Doug Baldwin and Golden Tate). On most plays, cornerbacks are a bit flat-footed, waiting for these receivers to cut inside, which never happens on verticals. According to Seahawks players, the play works best when they "check" into it, meaning they change into it at the line. after Wilson sees a coverage he can exploit. On Jermaine Kearse's decisive 35-yard touchdown catch in the NFC title game, this was the case. After the 49ers distracted themselves by jumping offsides, Wilson changed the call to verticals.

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Shallow cross: Peyton Manning's historic performance this season, at age 37, has much to do with his experience, his accuracy and his receivers. But more than anything, his body of work speaks to how the Broncos QB has evolved as a passer. Long known as a downfield thrower, Manning has morphed into the NFL's pre-eminent dink-and-dunk guy. No QB released the ball more quickly this season, and only two threw more passes within five yards of the line. No play has had more impact than the shallow cross, a short throw designed for a receiver running at full speed across the field. The Broncos like to run this out of a four-receiver set with Wes Welker, Eric Decker and Julius Thomas clustered tight on one side and Demariyus Thomas on the other. While the cluster runs routes designed to clear out the middle, Thomas runs a "drag" route in the other direction and gets the ball on a short throw with space to run. This route figures to be a key play Sunday: It's was designed to combat the kind of coverage Seattle prefers.

Good analysis. However, it doesn't count except for the Lynch run game part. With Harvin in for Seattle, even 335 lbs isn't enough to stop Lynch by himself. He got lots of help against Brady. Harvin means that the broncs cannot run 7-8 men in the box, which means Lynch has a field day.My guess is that the Broncos will be head hunting Harvin, trying to knock him out of the game. It worked in the NO/Seahawks game and Bush got a $20K+ fine for taking Harvin's head off.Watch for a really, really cheap shot on Harvin. Wilson's offense is fantastic if he has Harvin or Rice in the game as it opens up everything else.Wilson's ratings went down after Rice was hurt and went briefly up with Harvin. That Wilson won these games just shows the remaining WRs are pretty good and under rated.Manning will win if Seattle cannot get pressure on him. They don't have to do it every time, just often.Manning's guile and head smart aren't as effective against a straight up defense simply because the formations for defense look all the same. How do you Omaha the same formation you saw last time but this time turns into a Man/Zone when last time it was a Man defense?

The key element in this game will not be the play calling or executions by individual players - it will be the officiating. Instant replay continues to reveal officiating "mistakes" at key moments. Now, I don't watch football all the time, and I am not a rabid fan; however, I know enough to realize when an official has screwed up whether intentionally or not - especially when subject to replay scrutiny. Case in point - I do not follow the Seahawks or their opponent in their last game; yet it was obvious that Seattle profited from all the bad calls at critical times, and they were game changers. Just in the arena of past defense, allowing officials more leeway in judgement calls for pass interference has contaminated the sport as have calls of defensive holding in some cases. Yesterday, I casually mentioned the Seattle game to a true football devotee, and he said, "The officials' bad calls were so blatant, I quit watching the game."

I have a friend who is a professional analyst - respected throughout his multistate region. In reply to a question, he told me that in any game, someone "has" at least one major player or an official, or both. Maybe there are "had" guys on both sides, so there is a chance things will balance out. It will be a real shame if football gravitates to the level of boxing or to where basketball is trending, but implications are that it is doing just that..

If Seattle gets ahead by more then a touchdown, they'll take the "air out of the ball:, so to speak, by running the ball and running out the time Denver has the ball. This will mean Manning will need to throw longer passes that are susceptible to interception or incompletion. The reverse is also true but Seattle has the best record this year for long pass completions.

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